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Episode details

Sounds,11 Sep 2026,37 mins

Talent, Time and Money: The Curse of General Magic

Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford

Available for over a year

It's 1990. A new company called General Magic is going to build its vision of the future: the smart phone. They have talent, almost unlimited cash, and a 15 year head start on the iPhone. What could go wrong? This episode was based, with permission, on David Epstein's book Inside the Box: How Constraints Make us Better. For a list of sources, see the show notes.

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